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[Laal Boss]

received a call from GP surgery on Wednesday to call in for abnormal reading from recent general bloods. Never expected T2 diagnosis. My next appt is with GP on 9th May and diabetic nurse 13th May. Thought I was asymptomatic but since shock diagnosis cannot quench my thirst and itchy legs.

I put waking up ravenous through night due to trying to follow SW which have done sucessfully over the years. This time I have struggled losing 1/2 or nothing a week and wondered if T2 was affecting it.

I was put on statins, betablockers and thiazides last year as preventative. All stopped now as angio was clear.

I honstly don’t know where to get advice as there seems to be confliction.

Any suggestions most welcome. I might try to expedite appt on 9th

 

[Resurgam]

My thought when diagnosed was to drop all carbohydrate from my diet - I ate a couple of chops the first two days, then gradually introduced low carb plants so I could eat salads and stir fries.
Type two can mean you are insulin resistant, which keeps your insulin levels high and seems to prevent weightloss, so the reduction in carbs stops pressuring the pancreas to release insulin.
I got back to normal results by eating 50 gm of carbs a day.
You might be advised to lower carbs gradually to avoid the flu like symptoms some people experience - but I was just so glad to have the perfect excuse to ignore the diet advice from the dr that I threw caution to the wind, and never felt better.

 

[Rachox]

Hi Laal and welcome to the forum. I was diagnosed on a routine blood test two years ago so can appreciate how confused and scared you must be feeling. I’ll tag in @daisy1 for her useful info post or you can click on the link in my signature entitled Newly Diagnosed: what you should know.
I’ll tell you how many Type 2s including myself have gain control and now show non diabetic results. I do take a mild medication called Metformin, many don’t as it only has a tiny effect and some people get unwanted side effects. The key really is diet. You will need to drastically reduce sugar obviously but carbohydrates also need reducing as they all turn to sugar once eaten. So that’s cereals, bread, potatoes, rice, pasta etc... Another tool we use though not funded by the NHS for Type 2s is the use of self monitoring.
Please come back with any further questions.

 

[helliebean]

Hi, welcome to the forum..you are among friends here who have a wealth of great sound advice, help and support. I have Type 2 (8 years)..and my only suggestions would be to keep everything diabetes as calm & stress free as possible, exercise to your own ability, even a small amount goes a long way, and I can highly personally recommend the Low Carb Diet (I have been on the Low Carb diet for 4 years and it is wonderful)..You taking control is the key..Best wishes..Helen

 

[Freema]

welcome here Laal Boss

 

[HSSS]

Can I suggest you take a good look at low carb high fat methods of eating (keto is just a version of this). It helps many of us lose significant amounts of weight, if desired, keep our numbers down and for some even eliminate medications and achieve remission and reduce or improve complications. Try clicking these links for more detailed explanations that are well worth readings


https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog/jokalsbeek.401801/ for info including low carb made simple


And https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/success-stories-and-testimonials.43/ to show it really works and for motivation


and https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/what-have-you-eaten-today.75781/ for food ideas


also https://www.dietdoctor.com/ for more food ideas and general info of carb content of foods. Lots of other websites for recipes out there too. Just use the term low carb or keto with whatever you fancy.


Also it’s very important to be able to check for yourself what’s happening so you can make the necessary adjustments day to day and meal by meal rather than wait 3,6 or even 12 months and then have no idea what had what effect. Getting a blood glucose meter is the only way to do this (no matter what contradictory advice you may have heard - it’s usually budget based rather than anything more scientific). Please ask if you want any guidance on this.



IMPORTANT FOR ANYONE ON MEDS CONSIDERING LOWERING CARBS: if you lower your carbs then any glucose lowering meds may need to be adjusted accordingly to make sure you aren’t taking more than your new diet requires. It can cause a hypo if you have more gliclazide or insulin etc (this is not relevant for metformin on its own) than your new carb intake requires. Keep a close eye on your numbers and ideally do this with your dr. Please don’t be put off by an ill informed out dated rubbishing of low carb diets or being told you should eat carbs to match meds, it should be the other way around.

 

[daisy1]

@Laal Boss
Hello and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it both interesting and helpful.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 600,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.